WH sees spate of resignations

After violent pro-Trump protesters stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday, a growing number of Republican leaders and Cabinet officials told US news media that they believe Donald Trump should be removed from office before January 20. Four of them called for the 25th Amendment to be invoked, and two others said the president should be impeached. 

A number of senior White House officials also resigned seen as a rebuke to Trump for inciting the violence that saw angry mob rampaging through the citadel of American democracy. 

The discussions focused on the 25th amendment to the US Constitution, which allows for a president's removal by the vice president and cabinet if he is judged "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."

Invoking it would require Vice President Michael Pence to lead the cabinet in a vote on removing him.

CNN quoted unnamed Republican leaders saying the 25th amendment had been discussed, saying they had described Trump as "out of control."

CBS reporter Margaret Brennan said that "nothing formal" had been presented to Pence, and ABC reporter Katherine Faulders said "multiple" sources had told her that discussions took place on the unprecedented move.

Trump's encouragement of the protesters, his unfounded claims that he lost the November 3 presidential election due to massive fraud, and other bizarre behavior have raised questions about his ability to lead.

While only two weeks remain before President-elect Joe Biden takes office, after the attacks on Congress Wednesday Democratic lawmakers called for invoking the 25th Amendment as well.

Democrats of the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Pence urging him to act to remove Trump, saying he had stoked an act of insurrection and "sought to undermine our democracy."

Pointing to a rambling speech Trump gave Wednesday, it said he "revealed that he is not mentally sound and is still unable to process and accept the results of the 2020 election."

Former and current Republican leaders also vented their anger.

Former President George W Bush, who has kept a low profile, released a strongly-worded rebuke Wednesday evening calling the "insurrection" at the Capitol a "sickening and heartbreaking sight."

While not mentioning Trump by name, Bush said he was "appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election and by the lack of respect shown today for our institutions, our traditions, and our law enforcement."

Mitt Romney, the Utah senator who was the only Republican to vote to convict the president on an article of impeachment last year, went further, calling the President a "selfish man" who "deliberately misinformed his supporters" about the election.

Wyoming Republican Rep Liz Cheney, a member of the House leadership, echoed Romney's anger and frustration at Trump. "There is no question that the President formed the mob. The President incited mob, the President addressed the mob," said Cheney on Fox News. "He lit the flame."

And Sen Tom Cotton of Arkansas, an otherwise staunch ally of Trump's, was unsparing. "It's past time for the president to accept the results of the election, quit misleading the American people, and repudiate mob violence," Cotton said.

Meanwhile, White House deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger has resigned, joining a number of officials who are leaving the administration of Trump following the violent incidents.

Pottinger, a leading figure in the development of Trump's China policy, resigned on Wednesday. Bloomberg first reported the resignation. Pottinger's boss, national security adviser Robert O'Brien, has no plans to quit, the official said.

An administration official described Trump as "increasingly isolated" and said that "national security officials who are loyal to their oath to the constitution will be standing watch until Inauguration Day and will then turn over power to the duly elected new president."

Four people died during the chaos - one from gunshot wounds and three from medical emergencies - after hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a bid to overturn his election defeat to Democrat Biden.

Two top aides to first lady Melania Trump also resigned on Wednesday. Stephanie Grisham resigned as chief of staff to the first lady. Grisham, who spent a year as White House press secretary before becoming chief of staff to the first lady, did not say whether her resignation was in reaction to the violence, but a source familiar with her decision said it was the last straw.

The White House social secretary, Rickie Niceta, also resigned, as did a deputy White House press secretary Sarah Matthews, two sources told Reuters.

There was also talk inside the White House that deputy chief of staff Chris Liddell might resign, a source said.